GRATZ - Coming back from a wrist injury to your throwing hand can be tough for most pitchers, but not for Sam Kerwin.

Kerwin struck out 11 batters in a four-inning, two-hit gem to lead Upper Dauphin County to a 21-2 thrashing of Cressona in a District 24 Little League 11-12-year-old Tournament game June 24.

The left-hander backed by a 23-hit attack that kept Upper Dauphin unbeaten in Pool 2 play at 2-0, while Cressona dropped to 1-1.

"This was Sam's first day back after a fishing accident gave him stitches in his wrist," Upper Dauphin manager Jeff Lentz said. "Let's just say I'm pleasantly surprised with the results."

Kerwin allowed just two baserunners through the first three innings, recording eight of the nine outs by strikeout.

Cressona ended Kerwin's shutout bid with a pair of runs in the fourth.

By that point, Upper Dauphin was in total command.

UDC scored seven runs in the top of the first, four in the second, four in the third and six in the fourth.

"I didn't expect them to hit as well as they did," Cressona manager Frank Heffner said. "They scored right away and just kept going and going."

Sawyer Morgan, Chase Bond and Connor Reed were each 4-for-4 for Upper Dauphin.

Morgan had a home run, two doubles, three RBIs and four runs scored, while Bond collected six RBIs.

"Sawyer leads the team in batting average," Lentz said. "I didn't have him last year so he's new to the team. I think he's a nice addition.

"(Bond)'s a great contact hitter," Lentz continued. "He knows how to put the ball in play and he also did a great job as a catcher behind the plate."

Morgan, Kerwin, Jake Ramberger, Bond and Mason Grow ripped doubles in the first inning for UDC, which sent 11 batters to the plate and collected seven hits in the frame.

UDC, which defeated Millersburg 9-3 in its tournament opener, never let up, collecting six more hits in the second inning, four in the third and six in the fourth.

"The whole team was putting the ball in play," Lentz said. "They were doing it over and over again."

Cressona used four different pitchers, one for each inning, starting with Riley Clauser in the first.

"After that first inning, I knew I didn't want to have Clauser throwing 85 pitches tonight," Heffner said. "There'd be no reason for that."

Clauser did have the lone bright spot for his team when he crushed a two-run homer to center field in the bottom of the fourth.

"Riley can hit the ball pretty hard," Heffner said.

Cressona entered Tuesday's game on the heels of a 21-0 rout of Mahanoy City on Sunday, but found themselves on the wrong end of the scoreboard against Upper Dauphin.

"They're a nice ball club top to bottom," Lentz said of Cressona. "I didn't anticipate this outcome and I think they're still gonna make noise in this pool."

Upper Dauphin 3

Millersburg 2

MILLERSBURG - Sam Kerwin hit a two-run, walk-off homer in the bottom of the sixth as Upper Dauphin County rallied to down Millersburg for a thrilling Pool 2 victory.

With the win, Upper Dauphin County clinched a playoff spot in the quarterfinal round.

Down 2-1, Sawyer Morgan singled with one out and then Kerwin, who drove in all three Upper Dauphin runs, followed with his blast to win the game.

Kerwin was also the winning pitcher.

Ryley Novinger hit a solo homer in the third to give Millersburg a 2-1 lead. Novinger also knocked in Millersburg's first run on a groundout in the top of the first.

Millersburg 11

Mahanoy City 1

MILLERSBURG - Four Millersburg players had two RBIs apiece to lead a balanced attack in a four-inning win over Mahanoy City in an 11-12 year-old District 24 Pool 2 game.

Ryley Novinger finished with two hits and two RBIs for Millersburg. Jordan Sass, Caden Feaster and Jayden Fulkroad each added two RBIs while Tate Etzweiler and Aiden Harman both doubled.

Harman and Etzweiler combined for a one-hitter.

Orwigsburg 5

Line Mtn. 0

ORWIGSBURG - Blake Lipko and Billy Gerlott combined on a five-hit shutout as Orwigsburg clinched a quarterfinal playoff berth with a 5-0 victory over Line Mountain in a District 24 Little League 11-12-year-old Tournament game June 28.

Chris Holler doubled and Dylan Biever and Lipko singled in a four-run first inning that put Orwigsburg ahead to stay. Three of those runs scored when Preston Sincavage's grounder to shortstop was misplayed.

Orwigsburg tallied its final run in the sixth on Austin Correll's RBI single.

In between, Lipko struck out six and got error-free defense behind him that included a 3-6-3 double play. Lipko pitched 5.2 innings before running out of pitches. Gerlott recorded the final out in the sixth.

Cameron Gaw had three hits and Blake Wirt had two for Line Mountain, which loaded the bases in the sixth inning but didn't score.

Shenandoah 4

Pine Grove 0

SHENANDOAH - Jake Thomas pitched a complete-game one-hitter and struck out 14 batters to lead Shenandoah over Pine Grove/Tremont in a Pool 3 game.

Alex Donchak's two-run, two-out single in the fifth inning gave Shenandoah a 3-0 lead and allowed Thomas some breathing room.

The win improves Shenandoah to 2-0, tied with Pottsville Rotary for first place in Pool 3.

Pine Grove/Tremont starting pitcher Jacob Bohr had his team's only hit of the game.

Upper Dauphin 9

Millersburg 3

GRATZ - Hunter Lentz' first-inning home run set the tone for Upper Dauphin in a District 24 Little League Pool 2 game.

Lentz finished 2-for-4, adding a double. Conner Reed went 2-for-3 with two doubles. Kade Matter and Sawyer Morgan also had two hits for Upper Dauphin.

Pate Etzweiler went 2-for-3 with a double to lead Millersburg. Caden Hesen had Millersburg's only other hit - also a double.

Sch. Haven 12

Line Mountain 0

DALMATIA - Damyan Miller doubled and homers to pace a 10-hit attack as Schuylkill Haven stayed unbeaten with a four-inning, Pool 1 win over Line Mountain.

Albe Evans tossed a two-hit shutout and struck out three for Schuylkill Haven, while Jack Higgins and Brendan Welsh-Lowe each added two hits.

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